Cigar lighter



Sept. 14, 1948. w. 1. NlssEN CIGAR LIGHTER Filed May 15,` 1946 @EL .d

Patented Sept. 14, 1948 ENT @iF-HCE 7 i clone LIGHTER Warren I. Nissen,Newark, J. i ApplicationMay 15, 1946, Serial No. 669,876

The invention relates to a cigar lighter of the cap operated type` i. e.the wick is exposed and a flame produced when the cap `swings fromclosed to open position, and the flame is` eX- tinguished as the capmoves back from open position to its closed position whereinit enclosesthe wick.` i

`The invention aims primarily to provide i a lighter construction of theabove type wherein `the cap is so constructed and `mounted inrelation tothe casing, as to provide a substantially balanced and symmetrical capconstruction, which merges `or blends in symmetrically and smoothly withthe side walls of: the lighter casing, avoiding.

the cap is opened, and when closed thecap affords a substantially tightseal against the ingress of tobacco crumbs, lint or the like,intotheworking parts of the lighter which are enclosed with-` i l 25 Inanother aspect the invention relates to an` in the cap.

adjustable closure `member for the `fuel `casing of the lighter, whichclosure may be readily adjusted without Vthe need offspecial tools,betweena casing sealing position whereinitfitsneatly and tightly intoplace against the adjacentwalls of the casing, and an open positionwherein it affords convenient access to the `interior ofthe casing forfuel lling, orwick or flint adjusting` purposes.` Further objects andadvantages of the invention will be in part obvious and in part`specifically referredto in the descriptionhereinafter contained which.`taken in .conjunction with the accompanying drawings, 4discloses alighter constructed to operate in accordance with the invention; thedisclosure howevershould `be considered as merely illustrative of theinvention in its broader aspects. In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a frontelevation, with certain .parts cut away, of a lighter constructedinaccordancewith the invention. t h,

` Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the lighter shown in Fig. 1. Y l

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 but `with other parts `cut away toshow the interior construction.

Figs. 4, 5 and 7 are detail sections taken respectively on lines l-4,-5-5 and Tf1 of Fig. l'looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig.V 6 is a bottom plan of the lighter casing, showing the closuremember `in open position.

a claims.` (el. 67.4711) s Fig.l8 is a fragmentary view similarlto lthebottom portionr of Fig'. 1, `but showing the closure member in partiallyopen position. x i u l Fig. 9 is a view illustrating-,themanual manipu--lation ofthelighten A i f In` accordance with the rstzabove mentioned.`

phase of the invention, the lighter isfprovided with a cap member whichis pivotally` mounted at the central portion of the space abovetheiuelreceptacleend provided with al top wall which archesover'rthetop of-thecasing' substantially from `one side edgeof the casing tot theother.` Inclosedposition the cap merges intofand'constitutes `a smoothextension'of the side walls of` the casing, and 'when the cap is tiltedto producea light, onequadrant `thereof tilts upwardly to expose-thewick and the otherquadrant thereofmoves downwardly within the side.walls of the casing. The invention is illustrated as applied tov alighter casing which is elongated'in horizontal crosssection, havingsidewalls I? and end lwalls! which surround a fuel chamber 3which may beunderstood as icontaining cotton or similar absorptivamaterial forvolatile liquid lighter-fuel such` as isusually employed. The top 3wall4` (Fig. 3)of the fuel chamber is depressed to provide a well 5 forpurposes hereinafter mene tioned, and wick tube` 6 which receives awick'l, is mounted` in the top wall `i near one ofthe end wa1ls.;2, in `themannerv shown` in Fig.. `3. A flint tube 8, carrying a flint 9 pressedby a spring IB, `also projects through the top wall as shown inFigQS` lAs shown best in Figs. l'and, the `cap mem-r ber of the lighter is`provided with a` top wall Il which arches over thetcp of thecasingsubstantially `from one side edge of the` casing to the'other sideedge thereof, the caplfiaving` side walls, lf2 which mate withthesidewalls `I` of the lighter casing., A` snuffer` member i3 (Fig. \3)carried bythe cap, encloses the exposed portionof thefwick 'I andjitsagainst the wicktube E; whenthe `cap `member is in closed position.

' The cap member is pivotally mounted at the central `portion of thespace` above the fuel re.-` ceptacle upon a transverse 4spindle I gextending,`

between thesidewalls I2 of the cap, and pref-` erably mounted ashereinafter described.. VThe side endend 'Walls of the lighter casingvare preferably provided with upwardly `projecting portions Ia'.and 2arespectively, withirhwhich` the lower edge portions of the cap arereceived when the cap is in `closed position. Thus in-closed positionthe cap,` effectively seals the entire space above the .lighter .againstthe ingress of tobacco 3 crumbs, dirt; and the like, and the capconstruction merges smoothly into the side walls of the lighter casing.When the cap member is tilted in a clockwise direction, as the partsappear in Fig. 3, the quadrant of the cap which is at the left ofspindle I 4 and above wick I swings angularly upward to expose the wick,and the quadrant of the cap which is at the right of spindle I4 in Fig.y3, swings downwardlyto nest into. the, well 5. In this w-ay asufficiently. wide opening of the cap is secured, to clear wick 1adequately,

and yet the construction, both in closed and in within the cap abovedescribed consists of aV sparking wheel I5 which in the illustrated formof the invention is journaled coaxially with the cap on spindle I4.Flintl 9 is pressed against the roughened surface of wheel I5', Aandthe1atter`is rotatedv by movement of the cap from-closed to. open positionso'as to. ignite wick I as the cap swings to open position. Preferablythe sparking wheel I5 is connected to the cap throughr an approprietepawl andv` ratchet mechanism in such manner that the wheel remainsstationary when the cap moves from. openito closed position. In theparticular form 'shown (see Figs; 3 and 4) the -Wheel 'I5 is providedwith side ratchet teeth I=6 which are engageable by spring nger I`I on apawl lever I8 (Fig. 3') which is pivotally mounted onspindle I4 and hasits outer end engagingwith a stud I9 extending between the side walls I2of the cap. rIihus the pawl lever I8 is rocked back andforth as the capmoves between closed and openposition, and wheel I5 is turned during theopening movement to project sparks on to the wie Preferably the topassembly consisting of the cap and the spark producing mechanismenclosed thereby, is detachably mounted in position uponv the top wall4. In the form shown in Fig. 3, this assembly is carried by a bracket 2Bdetachably secured to the upper surface of top wall 4 by a screw 2|which is accessible within fuel chamber 3. The bracket 2D is providedwith ears 2 2 which support the spindle I4 which in turn carriesthe'sparking wheel I 5 and the cap. Thus the above parts may beassembled with respect to each otherbefore the bracket is placed inposition o n Wall 4, and the assembly issecured in position by insertingthe screw 2l from the bottom of fuel chamber 3 as hereinafter described.

The illustrated form of the invention is of the manually actuated type,i.V e. the lighter may be nested in the operators hand as shown in Fig.V9, and with thecap in closed position the operator may convenientlyAengage his thumb With the quadrant of the cap which is above the wick l,as,

indicated bythe dotted lines in theupper part of Fig, 3. From the aboveposition the thumb may -be readily moved through an arc as indicated bythe dotted arrow at the-'top' of Fig; 3, to move the t cap through theIrequisite4 substantial angle asl'is nr ucl scribed construction fulfillsthese requirements in a simple and effective manner, without requiringmotion multiplying connections or awkwardly protruding levers,finger-pieces or the like, or awkward finger movements by the operator.After the cap has been'opened and the llame produced as above described,the operator moves his thumb in the reverse direction through the pathdescribed, to close the cap and extinguish the flame. This: movementalso` is simple and natural, and as above stated effectively seals thespace above the lighter against the ingress of dirt, and produces a capconstruction which blends or mergeswell into the general configurationof the lighter casing.

When the invention is employed in connection witha manually actuatedlighter as above described, I prefer to provide a spring constructionwhich will assist in holding the cap member both in closed and in openposition. As shown in Fig. 3, a bowed spring 23 is provided for thispurpose, the ends of the springbeing tensioned between the ears 2?.'` ofbracket 20, with which one end of spring 23 engages, and the stud i 9with which the other end `of spring 23 engages. In the position shown inFig, 3, spring 23 urges the snuffel" I3= into seating position againstthe wick tube 5; when the cap member 'is tilted to open position asabove described, the stud I9 swings down to a position where it is onthe other side of a central line passing through spindle I4 and theother end of the spring 23 which is engaged with 'ears 22; in thislatter position, spring 23 tends to hold the cap I I in open positionuntil the operator pushes the cap part way back toward closed position,

whereupon the spring 'assists in completing the closing movement.

It will be noted that in the above described construction, both thespindle III and the stud I9 are concealed by the upper side wallextensions Ia of the lighter casing, to' avoid marring of the exposedsurfaces of the lighter.

1"o'afl'ordy access to the fuel chamber'S, I prefer to provide thelighter with a slidably mounted wall section which normally is Ytightlyheld in sealing position, but may be `readily manipulated when desiredto expose the interior of the casing without requiring the removal ofscrews or like` detachableparts. In the form shown, the'bottom Wallsection 24 may be thus manipulated'. 'I 'hebottom portion of the lightercasingl is provided with a transverse partition 2,5 through which eX-tends a ,collar 26 surrounding the flint tube 8 and receiving anadjusting `screw 2'I' (Fig. 1) for the flint spring I0. By adjustmentofthe wall section 24, ashereinafter described; access may be had tothis screw 2'I v for the purpose of renewing the flint in theusualmanner.

The partition` 25 has therein a rectangular opening Z8 (Fig. 6) h'avingundercut opposite walls 259' (Fig. 7'). Within this opening 2.8 there isslidably fitted aj slide member 3Q which is connected to the Wallsection 2,4 so that the latn ter may b e slid back and forth alongopening 2 8 Preferably the slide 3E! includes a liner SI of spring metalwhich urges the wall sectionV 24 tightly into engagement with the loweredges1 of the casing side walls. In the form shown a` pin or projection32 pivotally secures the wall section 24 to the. slide member aboveymentionedy and also.. secures in position a spring stop 33, With theparts in the position shown in Fig'. l, the wall,

section 2,4, is freeto slidev to the right until' the position shown inFig.. 8 is reached,r wherein the stop 3U comes up against a lug 34 onWall 2.' This movement exposes the screw 21 on the end of the ilint tube8. If access to the interior of fuel chamber 3 is desired, the wallsection 24 may be turned angularly from the position shown in Fig. 8, tothe position shown in Fig. 6.` If it should be desired to entirelyremove the wall section 24, as will rarely be necessary, a tool may heinserted through' the opening 23, with the parts in the position shownin Fig. 6, to depress the spring stop 33 down below lug 34, whereuponthe closure assembly may be slid out bodily from normal position throughthe open end of the slot 26. The adjustable wall section 24 preferablyhas fixed thereto or integral therewith, a block 35 which interengageswith the undercut walls 29 above mentioned, to hold the wal1 section 24against angular movement when in closed position, but when the wallsection 24 has been moved to the partially open position shown in Fig.8, the block 35 is clear of walls 99 and thus the wall section 24 may bethen turned to the position shown in Fig. 6. The end portion 24a of thewall section 24, which end portion lies between the adjacent endportions of the walls 29 when the wall section 24 is in closed position,preferably is enlarged as shown in Figs. l and 8 so as to completelyiiil the space between the walls 29 when wall section 24 is closed.

When the wall section 24 is closed, it is held by spring member 3lintight engagement with the adjacent lower edges of the casing sidewalls I and 2 and mates therewith. For flint adjusting purposes thecasing section 24 need only be slid to the position shown in Fig. 8, andto afford access to the fuel chamber 3, supplementary adjustment is madeto the position shown in Fig, 6.

This application is a continuation in part of my prior copendingapplication Serial Number 638,967, filed January 4, 1946, entitledLighten which has been abandoned.

While the invention has been disclosed as applied to a lighter of theabove described specific construction, it should be understood thatchanges may be made therein without departing from the invention in itsbroader aspects, Within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A pyrophoric lighter of the character described, includng a casingwhich is elongated in horizontal cross section, said casing havingtherein a fuel chamber, a sparking wheel mounted in the space above thefuel chamber and disposed substantially centrally between the side edgesof the casing, a wick tube mounted on top of the casing at one side ofthe sparking wheel, the top of the casing having a well located at theother side of the sparking wheel, a cap member overlying substantiallythe entire space above said casing, said cap member being pivotallymounted substantially concentric with the sparking wheel and having atop wall which arches substantially symmetrically over the top of thecasing substantially from one side edge of the casing to the other sideedge thereof when said cap member is in closed position, to provideopposed quadrants of the cap member which overlie respectively the wicktube and well, which quadrants join together at a point above thesparking wheel and aiord opening movement of the cap member by manualengagement with the quadrant of the cap .member which overlies the wicktube, said cap member being tiltable between the aforesaid closedposition and an angularly displaced position wherein the quadrant of thecap member which overlies the wick tube is lifted upwardly therefrom toexpose the latter and the quadrant thereof on the opposite side of itspivotal axis moves downwardly into said well, means being providedwhereby movement of the cap member from closed position to such'angularly displaced position produces rotation of said sparking wheel toproject sparks therefrom toward the wick tube.

2. The combination of claim 1, wherein the sparking wheel and cap memberare mounted upon a bracket, said bracket being detachably clamped to thetop wall of said casing by a clamping member which is accessible foradjustment from the space within said fuel chamber.

' WARREN I. NISSEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,487,995 Wilkins Mar. 25, 1924FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 128,406 Austria May 25, 1932 140,155Great Britain Mar. 25, 1920 240,048 Germany Oct. 24, 1911 464,187 GreatBritain Apr. 13, 1937

